The Living Dead
by BethanyLeeRenner
Summary: Sometimes in the world they live in, it's hard to decipher if you're really living or not. Sometimes its just like you're surviving... not actually living. She is determined to live; no matter what it takes... Eventual Rick/OC
1. Horseshoe

**HEY READERS! If you're following me for Jeremy Renner; I bet you're surprised to see this Walking Dead fic. Yes. It is indeed a Walking Dead fic (best damn show ever). I am absolutely in ****_LOVE_**** with Andrew Lincoln/Rick Grimes. And there are not enough Rick/OC fics out there, so I thought I'd add to them(: So, for those who follow my stories for Jeremy Renner, I hope you'll stick around for this story! I actually really love it... hope you will too.**

**For those who are new; WELCOME! **

***Just a few notes: My main character is from Texas... so if grammar's a little weird, it's supposed to be like that! Also, I highly recommend looking up anything you may have questions about (or ask me). EVERYTHING in this story has a purpose. I've thought it out that way, so don't be afraid to look things up.**

**I DO NOT OWN THE WALKING DEAD OR ANYTHING ASSOCIATED WITH IT. JUST MY OC'S!**

**Enjoy!**

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The young blond sat atop her red dun American Quarter Horse with her trusted K-9 friend on the ground below her and scoped out the prison just below the ridge she was waiting on. It looked uninhabited; however, she thought she had seen a glimmer of something up in one of the watch towers. She narrowed her violet eyes at the tower, but saw no movement. Her gaze then shifted to the rest of the prison sight to see only a few walkers still remained around the grounds. The large beast shifted nervously beneath her as the smells and sounds of the undead continued to get nearer to their location.

"Sorry Joker. Just got make sure we got a way in," she murmured affectionately to her horse his head bobbing up and down in an understanding manner. Her massive Anatolian Shepard puffed air through his jowls, signaling his increasing boredom. The girl ignored him for now and thought she noticed a large enough break in the back fence to allow her and her companions to squeeze through… with a little muscle of course. After adjusting the saddle bags and the heavy duffle behind her, she kicked the horse up to a trot and made her way down to the prison with her dog, Kage, in tow.

Upon seeing the broken down fence, she dismounted, and made her way over to the small dent. After shoving all of her weight into it, the fence gave way, and slid in the dry dirt just enough to allow herself, Joker and Kage to pass. As she walked back to lead her horse through, a walker smelled them, and limped its way up to the unsuspecting girl before it. The young woman heard the growling of Kage signaling a walker approaching from behind, saw the horse lift its nose in the walker's direction, and she simply grabbed the nearest thing. A horseshoe. She groaned at the irony, spun around and jabbed one of the ends into the dead's eye, and pulled really hard. The hard iron ripped a gash from one temple to the other, and the walker fell dead – again – before her feet. She wiped the horseshoe on her already gorey brown and red plaid button-up, and threw the horseshoe back into her duffle. Grabbing hold of the reins, she pulled the horse through the make-shift gate, and pushed it closed behind her, making sure it was strong enough to not allow in any more walkers. As she turned, she came face to face with a small boy, probably around 10 years old, holding up a pistol to her head.

"Who are you." He stated; voice surprisingly firm. Kage lowered his head to the ground and growled at the young boy.

She smirked a little and crouched down to his level. "Hey kid. Why don't you point that thing at somethin' that's gonna be worth a bullet. Not a whole lot of those left, ya know."

The boy just glared harder, but the woman could see boy's hands shaking slightly on the trigger.

"Hmm. Still not budging?" She stood up to her full height, and stared down at the boy before lunging at him to rip the pistol from his grip. "Now now. Didn't your daddy ever tell you it aint' nice to threaten a lady?"

"And didn't your momma ever teach you it wasn't polite to manhandle a child?"

The woman turned to find the source of the voice, and instead had a crossbow pointed at her head, instantly causing her to roll her eyes and Kage to leap in front of her, teeth gnashing and green eyes narrowing to slits.

"Wow. A crossbow. That's very…_classy_ of you. Now seriously, stop pointing shit at me. And I wasn't manhandling him; I simply don't like people pointing shit at me." She enunciated her point with a step in his direction, and subtly scratched the dog's ear, allowing him to lie and calm down.

The bow was reluctantly lowered, and so she tossed the gun back to the kid, who still hadn't changed his hard demeanor.

"What do ya think Carl? Should we take her to your dad?"

"Oh great! There's more of you!" She rolled her eyes sarcastically.

"Yes. Actually quite a few," the boy murmured.

"Harlow. Harlow Grady," the woman stuck out her hand, hoping for some kind of trust to be formed, but both the people before her just glared at the outstretched hand. "Jesus. Touchy," she mumbled.

Both the men were suddenly startled when Joker decided to snort, causing Harlow to chuckle. "What? Never seen a horse before?"

"Nah. We've seen our fair share, just not since walkers came around. You know, they do have these things called 'cars' that were invented some odd years ago…" he smirked at her, and she just pleasantly returned it.

"Yes, and every week or so, you and your people have to go out of the way to try and replenish the gas. All I have to do is allow Joker to roam for several hours a day, and boom! He can be geared up and ready to go at any time."

"Joker?" The small boy, Carl, asked.

"Yeah. He's a horse that's got a sense of humor. Also, see that scar on his cheek?" Carl nodded. "Well, when he was just a yearling, he got in a fight with one of the other studs, and the other colt kicked him in the cheek; splitting it. We called him the Joker after that."

"What about him?" Carl asked, pointing to the dog.

"Oh! That's Kage. He's a big 'ol herd dog. You can pet him if you want."

Carl looked extremely skeptical, so she turned to the dog and patted his side. "Really, it's okay. Just as long as you don't threaten him again," she smirked.

"Well, this chat was fun n' all, but we really can't just sit around. We're already probably gonna get shit from Rick because we let you in without—"

"DARYL!"

"Fuck," she heard Daryl mumble. Harlow turned her attention to a slender middle aged man who was storming right towards them. Once he got close enough, he unsheathed his weapon, and pointed his gun right against her forehead. Joker whinnied in protest at his master's distress and immediately began pawing at the dirt.

"God dammit. You people make great first impressions on someone whose not even doing anything wrong,"

"You trespassed on our turf, destroyed our protection, and are currently threatening our safety." The man pressed the gun harder into her forehead, and noticed the other two tense with anticipation.

"Okay," she was getting really pissed off with all this pointing going on. "First, it ain't trespassin' unless you actually _own_ the damn place, sweetheart. Second," she slowly raised her hand, and wrapped her fingers around the barrel, slowly lowering it to her chest to stare the man deep into his blue eyes. "I fixed that damn fence so walkers couldn't get in, and how the hell is I threatening your safety?!"

"We are just trying to keep our people safe! The governor's gone missing, and how do we know you're not workin' for 'em?"

"Listen here, Rick. At least, I'm assuming that's your name because you have this whole 'I'm running this show' complex thing goin' on, and therefore causing these two fine young gentlemen to shit their pants. But I'm not buying it. And you're obviously a dumbass if you think I could possibly be a spy. I came here on a fucking _horse, _and I don't got any weapons on me." She tried to keep her face impassive; hoping they wouldn't search her duffle and find a Walther gently tucked into one of the internal pockets. She had to make these people trust her.

"Then how the hell do you kill walkers?" Daryl butted in curiously, immediately interrupting her thoughts.

"Kill 'em with whatever's on me at the time," she shrugged. "But it sounds to me, that you've got some weird ass soap opera, Boondock Saints shit goin' on, and I simply don't want to be apart of that. So, if you'll be so kind to show me the _proper _way out, I'll be on my way."

"Nuh uh. Not until we know for sure who you work for."

"Okay, Ricky. Baby? You are extremely attractive, and that sexy, gruff accent of yours is working wonders on my libido, but you really don't have good ears do you?"

"I'M."

She pushed the remainder of the gun down, so it was resting at Rick's side.

"NOT."

Stared hard into his deep blue eyes.

"A."

Took a step forward.

"FUCKING."

Leaned into him, so her cheek was pressed against his.

"SPY." She whispered, semi-seductively into his ear. She could hear Rick's breath hitch in his throat as she brought her fingers up to caress his hard muscled bicep. After which, she turned around, bent over, giving Rick a good view of her ass in her white shorts. Grabbing the reins, she swung up onto an anxious Joker and whistled at Kage to follow.

Daryl whistled low, admiring the balls of the young woman, and smirked when he saw Rick clearing his throat awkwardly, and turning a light shade of red. "Hey wait up snarky," he called out to her.

Harlow stopped the horse, and turned to look at Daryl, noticing Carl was now nowhere to be found.

"Stay."

Rick's eyes immediately snapped to Daryl's and sent him a warning glare.

"We could use someone with your spunk. If not for entertainment," he smirked.

Harlow genuinely laughed at that, loving the feeling of human interaction, no matter for how long. She knew she wouldn't stay, but figured she'd humor the redneck in front of her. Didn't help that she really wanted to tease a seething Rick again. "You know what? Sure. I'm sure both Joke and I could use a break anyways." She slid down from the horse, leaving the reins around the horn, allowing the horse to now freely graze. Approaching the men again, she crossed her arms underneath her ample chest, and looked from light blue orbs to dark blue ones, and smiled seductively at Rick. "Got any showers? I really need to get naked and clean myself,"

Rick shifted uncomfortably and tore his gaze away from the enchanting violet eyes before him. _How do eyes even get that color?! _

"Uh yeah. Grab your shit, I'll show ya," Daryl ushered her with his hands, and she followed, but not before grabbing her duffle and winking sultrily at a now flushed Rick, who was now also in need of a shower.

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**So?! What do we think?! Please leave me a review; they make me smile a lot(: **

**Also, I picture Ashley Tisdale (2013 blonde version) as Harlow... well, she's about as perfect as I can get outside my own vision(; Maybe look up some pictures from her Maxim photoshoot... I think Harlow has that same cocky, sexy confidence about her, so that's why I thought Ashley was perfect.**

**XOOO, BethanyLeeRenner**


	2. Who is this girl?

**So here I am, 3:30 in the morning, and can't get to sleep. Soooooo, I decided I'd post for y'all!**

**Thanks for the lovely reviews! They make me smile a whole lot(:**

**Also; Clarendon Texas is a real place, and I absolutely love it there! Cute little town.**

**I don't own Walking Dead, etc.**

**Enjoy!**

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Daryl led her through the many corridors of the prison and into what resembled a high school locker room shower area.

"Now, there's no hot water… but it's running water, so, yeah. There ya go. Once you're done, come back out into the eating area. I'll introduce you to the rest of the group after that." Just as he was about to turn and leave, Harlow called out to him.

"Hey Daryl?"

He sent a nod of acknowledgment.

"Thank you. Really, but I think I'll just take this shower and get out of ya'lls hair. I would really hate to be a nuisance."

Daryl was a bit taken aback at her sudden change in demeanor. Un-intrusive and shy overtook sassy and seductive; just like that. He blinked away any surprise that was visible in his eyes, and calmly shook his head. "We look out for each other here. In a world that's gone to shit, it's helpful to have as many friends as you can. You'll stay."

It wasn't a question, or even a suggestion. It was a god damn command. All Harlow could do was nod in understanding, and wasted no time in ripping off her clothes. Daryl chuckled quietly, and turned to head back to the rest of the group. As he walked across the long empty hallways and corridors, he thought of the woman back in the showers. What the hell was she thinking traveling all by her lonesome. With a dog and horse no less! As a hunter, he knew that all animals had a distinct smell to other animals. And that's just what the walkers were; animals. He was one hundred percent sure that walkers would be following the scent from miles around.

Daryl's thoughts were interrupted by the bickering between whom sounded like Glenn, Rick and Hershel.

"Rick, she could be an asset! She obviously knows what she's doing. You said she didn't have a weapon on her? I think we could learn form her skills—"

"We don't need to learn anything from a girl we don't know Glenn," Rick growled.

"Rick. Let's just think this through. Daryl obviously thought something of her, so let's give her a chance. We need to remember our humanity. She's got nowhere else to go…" Hershel; always the open-minded and caring one of the group. Daryl decided to ignore the irrelevant conversation going on, and walked over to where Judith was sweetly nestled in Carol's arms. He rest his crossbow against one of the tables, and took his place next to the short haired woman, and smiled down at her when she looked up at him.

"Daryl."

Daryl shot his look up to see deep blue eyes tinted with annoyance staring down at him. "What's up Rick?"

"Where's the girl?"

"Her name is Harlow, dad." Carl put in.

Rick pointedly ignored his son, causing everyone to tense up at their leader's attitude. Even when things got tense at their little sanctuary, Rick was always the rational one of the group. Daryl had his suspicions that in light of everything that's happened with Andrea, Meeshone leaving, and not knowing at all where the Governor was off to, all the stress had finally got to the ex-sheriff's head. He would keep quiet though, that's just who Rick was. Never telling people what was really going through his mind. He 'had to remain sane' for the sake of the group and his slowly dwindling son. They'd all seen it; the way that Carl had changed, the way he was becoming a mini governor. Daryl had a strange feeling that the new girl would be good for the small boy though, her sense of humor and the way Carl looked longingly at the animals she'd brought along with her. Yeah, he'd have to defend this girl. For Carl's sake… and even possibly Rick's.

"I took her to wash up. Seemed pretty grateful for it too,"

Rick rolled his eyes. "Well, it's good to know that someone who threatens our safety is comfortable,"

"How is she threatening our safety?" Tyrese asked curiously.

"Why don't you tell 'em Daryl? Hmm? She came in on a horse with a dog by her. Those damn walkers will have smelled 'em from miles away!"

Daryl had to hand it to Rick. He wasn't as clueless as he'd originally thought. Even Daryl had thought of that same, small issue. But that's all it was; small.

"Rick, we're surrounded by fencing. If anything, she did us a favor. Now we can kill most of the walkers without having to leave," Maggie interjected.

Daryl could tell that Maggie, Carol and Beth were excited to have another female presence around; even if they hadn't met her yet.

Rick angrily scratched the back of his neck, and turned to look at Carl, his eyes softening as he noticed his son's hard face. "Carl? Do you think she should stay?"

The look on Carl's face… Daryl wished he had a camera at that time. Carl's jaw was dropped, and his eyes were wide with the weight that his father had just put on his shoulders. Daryl felt a sense of sadness. He knew what Carl would choose. He's become almost as heartless as Meryl used to be.

But, before Carl could open his mouth to speak, he was interrupted.

"Why not just ask me if I'm gonna stay anyway?"

All heads whipped to the new voice added top the group, and Rick tried his damned hardest not to stare; but it was all in vain. There was Harlow dressed in a pair of lace and denim hip hugging shorts, with a sheer black button up set loosely around her curves. He tried to not show distaste at the fact you could clearly see her red lace bra underneath, and… _does she have a double belly button piercing? Damn, she's really toned…_ Rick shook his head to clear his thoughts. He was amazed that even during the zombie apocalypse, people still managed to look like cheap prostitutes. She didn't even look that good… well; at least that's what he tried to tell himself.

"You must be Harlow," It was Maggie who spoke up first; approaching the blonde with a beaming smile.

"Indeed I am," The two girls shared a friendly handshake as Carol handed the baby off to someone else, and also approached the new-comer.

"Wow. I have to say Harlow, that even in rough times like this; you still manage to look amazing,"

Harlow smiled at the older woman and self consciously rubbed her fingers across her wrists. "Yeah? Well, I guess this is the way I hang onto my sanity. Sure I don't have anyone to impress," her violet eyes quickly flashed to Rick, who was staring intently at one of the steel tables. "But, I figured I'd dress for myself, ya know? To keep that one inch of myself that was there before all this shit happened. Allows me to forget for just a few moments…"

Carol smiled happily, and surprised the new girl by embracing her in a tight hug. A pregnant pause seemed to take over the group, and Harlow awkwardly shuffled her feet and cleared her throat. "Well, thank you for the shower, but I guess I'll get out of your hair. Got some ground to cover before nightfall and Joker doesn't really like to travel in the dark,"

"You're not leaving," Lilac eyes shifted to the young boy, Carl, in surprise. "Dad said it was up to me to decide if you stayed, and I think we could use you. You'll stay. Grab your stuff, and I'll show you to a – cell, er, room." Carl nodded at his decision, and went off to find somewhere suitable for the young woman to live.

"Once again, I appreciate it guys; really. I won't be a burden, and I'm pretty sure I can help y'all out. I was raised on a farm, so I know how to hunt, sew, do laundry, manage a garden, so, I'll definitely pull my weight around here." Crossing the distance to an empty seat, she sat her butt down and waited.

"So where you from?"

Her eyes looked to a tall black man. "Well…?"

"Tyrese," he nodded.

"Well Tyrese. I'm from a small town called Clarendon, in west Texas. About two and half hours outside of Dallas, and just made it here into Georgia about two months ago. As you can imagine, travel by horse takes a lot longer than a car."

Maggie piped up at that. "You really came here on a horse?"

"Yes ma'am. My pride and joy too. After my family was taken by the disease, I made sure that Joker made it. I raised him since he hit the ground. Turns five next winter. That's a money making rodeo horse out there, and one of the best ranch horses I've ever been on. Too bad none of that shit matters anymore… but it sure is fun to just hop up there sometimes and run a pattern, or rope a couple of walkers," All eyes suddenly widened at her idea of fun, but Harlow just shrugged it off. "Got to entertain yourself somehow without goin' crazy,"

"And you don't think that ropin' what used to be people's family, _isn't_ crazy?" Rick snapped.

Harlow just smiled and winked, but was saved from further conversation when Kage came bounding in with his tail held high, wagging ferociously.

"Well, I guess that's my cue. I swear, my pets are like children. Demandin' I tuck 'em into bed and all that. Thanks again for lettin' me stay. I'll be sure to find Carl once I'm finished out there. G'night," And with that, she left the group in their stunned silence. _Who was this girl?_

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**Okay, now just so y'all know; I raise rodeo horses, so don't go badgering me on inaccurate stuff once we get more into the reason we have the animals. Also, if Harlow seems a little bit like a skank, that's good. She'll explain more later on on why she does and dresses the way she does, even though you did get a bit of a glance. **

**I decided I didn't want Carl to be a mini Governor, so, Harlow is sorta gonna be his 'out'.**

**Read/Review & make me happy!**

**XOOO, BethanyLeeRenner(;**


	3. Are you bit?

**Hey readers! I know it's been forever, and I apologize that this chapter is so short. Just wanted you guys to know I'm not dead(; But, I would like to know if you guys would like more frequent updates, but fewer words? Or less frequent updates, but longer chapters?... Let me know!**

**Thanks for all the amazing reviews! This stories one of my hardest ones, so keep the inspiration coming!**

**Enjoy!**

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Harlow sat, shifting through her Victoria's Secret duffle bag looking for a certain something. After passing through spare clothes, her hidden gun, lotion, a water bottle, and a special necklace given to her by her sister; she finally finds it. Her dainty fingers pulled out the Swiss Army knife, and flip open the small blade. Bright violet eyes stared at the glimmering metal, then slowly traced down to her wrist. She brought up her other hand, and slowly rolled up the sheer, black sleeve to reveal small raised scars from previous blade encounters. Harlow closed her eyes, and slowly brought the blade to her flesh, thinking of how many lives she'd taken that day.

_Two._

She pressed the blade a little harder and sliced it through the soft skin. Crimson liquid leaked from the wound, and dripped to the floor as she thinks of whose family members she slaughtered.

_One more._

Once again, she brought the blade back to her skin, but angled it to diagonally cross the previous mark. This time, she takes her time: slowly ripping the flesh as she thinks of the little boy, probably about seven years old, red hair, freckles, and muddy grey eyes. His jaw looked as if it had been broken, as his decayed tongue and flesh hung from his delicate, young face.

Tears slowly leaked from her eyes as she thinks of when her sister was that young. How could she be so selfish to take the life of someone so young?! The pocketknife fell from her trembling hands, and back into the duffle bag below her feet. She sighed, and went through her garbage bag full of clothes until she found her knee high socks, yellow lacy underwear and _Avengers_ sweatshirt. Another sigh quickly left her parted lips as she stripped down to nothing, and sifted through the duffle bag once again, until she came across her antiseptic and gauze, quickly taking care of her new wound.

After she pulled on her last sock, she quietly left the darkened cell, and, following the light of the moon, walked out of the prison and into the courtyard. She softly sat in the center of the courtyard, surrounded by decaying bodies, and looked up to the sky. Her mind wandered to what her life could have been right in that moment. She'd probably still be living at home, working hard training horses. Who knows, maybe her and Jack would have finally started dating. Maybe her brother would've given her a niece or nephew by now. She smiled at that thought. She'd always loved children… now, with the zombie apocalypse going on and everything, she'd probably never get the chance to go through the struggles of pregnancy, just to discover the gift of giving birth to someone she'd undeniably love and cherish.

A cold, wet nose soon pressed against her bare thigh, and Harlow jumped at the contact.

"Jesus Kage! You scared me." Her voice softened and a small smile graced her lips as she pet the soft, tan fur of Kage's ear. "Where you been hiding? Huh buddy?"

"Found him tryin' to dig under the gate," a southern drawl appeared to be voicing from behind her, and she turned to see Rick standing a good five feet behind her, with his hands on his hips.

"Oh. Well, thanks for bringing him back I guess,"

"What? No snarky remark? Nothin' to push my buttons?"

Harlow sighed, and turned back around to look out ahead of her. Wondering why all the world went to shit. "No," she whispers.

She heard the crunch of his boots, until she saw them in her peripherals, and turned to look back up at him with his hand outstretched towards her.

"Come on. You shouldn't be out here. I've got bigger things to worry about than tryin' to keep you safe,"

Harlow slowly brought her hand up into Rick's warm one, when his eyebrows furrowed as he pulled her to her feet. His other hand shot to her forearm, and pulled the sleeve of her sweatshirt up to her elbow. Harlow tried to struggle away from him, but his grip was too strong as he stared at the blood-stained gauze on her wrist.

"Are you bit?" His voice was firm, and she could see him slowly moving his other hand to his pistol at his side.

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**Okay. Hopefully that all makes sense. I can't have a completely happy, go-lucky, seductress main character all the time now, can I? (;**

**Review please!**

**XOOO, BethanyLeeRenner**


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